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2017 Chief’s Report

January 19, 2018

Brother Firemen and Honored Guests:

Welcome to the annual meeting of the Thibodaux Volunteer Fire Dept. for 2018.

It has been an honor and a privilege to serve as your chiefs for the past year. During this time, the department continued to provide the same quality fire protection that it has provided for so many years. Through the hard work and dedication of its members, the department completed many projects during 2017. Most of these projects were geared toward maintaining or improving the services we provide to the community as well as providing for the overall safety of the firemen who provide those services.

A recap of those projects is as follows:

1. All air packs and cylinders were replaced with the new 5.5 Scott Air Packs.

Annual inspections were performed on all fire extinguishers in the department and hydro tests were performed as required.

Annual tests were performed on the aerial units with all units receiving certification.

Annual pump tests were performed on all pumpers with all units receiving certification.

Continued the Fire Pup Program in association with the National Fire Safety Council in observance of National Fire Prevention Week. Children in all day care centers and grades K-6 were exposed to fire prevention material including the Learn Not To Burn program.

The smoke detector program continued to provide smoke detectors to needy families.

Purchased additional sets of new personal protective gear.

Put into service a New Pumper (Eng15) and two New Salvage Units (S14 & S21).

Purchased the Property behind True Value and consolidated all of our property on the Fair Grounds into one parcel of record.

Partnership with the Bayou Country Children’s Museum to host Night Out at the Boseum with Sparky.

In 2017 we had 23 members complete EMR training for the first time.

In 2017 we had 13 members of the Department participate in the 911 Stair climb in New Orleans and 2 of those members participated in the Biloxi 5k run and stairclimb.

In conjunction with the City of Thibodaux we collected funds to assist with Hurricane Relief after the Hurricanes that hit the USA.

The 2016 budget of the City of Thibodaux included funds allocated for supplies and equipment for the fire department. Funds were used for the following:

Communication equipment

New Compressor for Central to fill Air Bottles

Purchased New Roco Rescue Equipment for Rescue Squad

During 2017, the Thibodaux Volunteer Fire Department answered 398 total calls of which 301 were fire calls and 97 were rescue calls compared to 381 total calls in 2016 for a total increase of 17 calls.

ANALYSIS OF FIRE ALARMS

In 2017, the Thibodaux Volunteer Fire Department responded to 301 fire calls compared to 323 fire calls in 2016 which is a decrease of 22 fire call responses. There were a total of 4,331 member responses to these calls for an average of 14 responders per call. The average number of responders to the building fires was 40. The average response time for all calls was 3.97 minutes. A breakdown of the types of fire calls is as follows:

Building fires 4 Smoke scare 29

Vehicle fires 4 Good Intent 10

Electrical fires 26 Unauthorized burning 25

Flammables 10 Alarms 143

Cooking container 7 Standby 15

Trash/Rubbish/Dumpster 3 Carbon Monoxide 2

Of the above calls, 339 calls were in the City, 43 were in District 4, and 16 were to provide mutual aid to surrounding fire departments.

ANALYSIS OF RESCUE CALLS

The Rescue Squad responded to 97 rescue calls in 2017 compared to 58 in 2016. These calls were for the following reasons.

Auto accident 10

Medical assist 87

Members of the department logged the following hours in 2017.

Meetings 6078

Training 5417

Fire Prevention 1054

Each member is asked to continue making every effort to increase their attendance at fires and training and to continue providing top notch fire and rescue services to our community. Many thanks for a job well done.

As you can see, the Thibodaux Volunteer Fire Department had another active year in 2017. We would like to thank and recognize the following for their contributions, support, dedication and loyalty to the department during the past year.

Thanks to the general public for the support given to the department, especially at fair time. Without this support, none of our accomplishments could have been possible.

Thanks to the wives and families of the firemen for patience and understanding and for allowing our members to devote the time necessary to operate this department.

Thanks to Mayor Tommy Eschete and his staff, Police Chief Brian Zeringue and the entire police department, Public Works Director Archie Chaisson and his staff, Finance Director Debbie Daigle and her staff, Council Administrator Jenny Morvant and her staff, and all of the city employees along with the entire City Council for their support and assistance provided to us during the year. Special Thanks to the TPD dispatchers who ensure we get paged out for all of our calls.

Thanks to Byron Talbot and REECO Rentals for the use of heavy equipment when needed.

Thanks to the Lorio Foundation Board and Peltier Foundation for their generous support that helps us to protect the lives and property of the citizens of Thibodaux by providing funds for the purchase of fire fighting and rescue equipment.

Thanks to Dr. Kenneth Cruse, Grand Marshal for 2017 and all of the past Grand Marshals for their generous support.

Thanks to all of the members and anyone who helped out in any way at the 2017 fair and parade. It is through your hard work that the department was able to again realize another great and successful year.

Thanks to the officers and members of the surrounding fire departments for any assistance that you may have provided us when called upon. Being able to call upon a neighboring department for assistance is vital to the overall mission of protecting lives and property.

Thanks to all of the members of the Fire Board for the administrative management you provide and for allowing the department to move forward with the above projects and purchases.

Thanks to Secretary Billy Royster, Treasurer Mike Naquin and Board President Joe Ayo for your service to the department in performing your duties as a department officer.

Thanks to the Captains and Lieutenants for your cooperation and devotion to your duties and for providing the leadership needed to prepare your company members to be quality firefighters.

Thanks to all of the Squads and Squad Directors for the outstanding services that you provide over and above your normal company obligations. These services play a vital role in the department’s mission of protecting lives and property.

Thanks to Conrad Harlen who served as Training Director during 2017 and his assistants who coordinated training activities.

Special thanks to Albert Fields, Gerald David and David Leblanc for the time and effort it takes to maintain department records in the computer. Record keeping is a required department function that has become more and more difficult to maintain with the amount of data that must be turned in to complete this task.

To each and every member of this department, thank you for your dedication and hard work. It is through your continued sense of pride and dedication that we can continue to provide the quality services that the citizens of Thibodaux expect from us.